Into the light
by chasingthewilddream
Summary: Newfound reporter Kara Danvers gets sent on a mission to write a three parter about Luthor Corp and the Luthor family. Meeting Lena is nothing like she expected it to be, but she realises quickly that Lena isn't as happy as she is pretending to be Slow burn AU, where Lena is married when she meets Kara. No Supergirl, just Kara & Lena. SuperCorp/Karlena


_Disclaimer: "Supergirl" and all its characters belong to DC, the developers of the show – Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg, and The CW._

 _This is a fanfiction, for the mere purpose of SuperCorp shippers entertainment. Copyright infringement is not intended._

* * *

 **INTO THE LIGHT**

 **by chasingthewilddream**

 _ **1 – The absence of light**_

Lena Luthor stared into the coffee cup while the butler was filling it.

She watched as the steaming hot, blackish liquid moved around in the porcelain cup like the storming sea, wondering how it would feel to be washed away, carried by the force of the waves until she would drown in the darkness.

Would it be her biggest nightmare or would it give her the freedom she longed for so desperately?

"Lena, dear..."

Lillian's voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she almost dropped the fork she hadn't even realised she was holding.  
She tightened her grip on the piece of silverware, because she really didn't need to be reminded of her incompetence first thing Monday morning.

It took her a second to steel herself, but then she looked up and met Lillian's impatient gaze, "Yes?"

"CatCo is sending a reporter to write a three parter on Luther Corp and the family. I expect you to present us in the best light possible", Lillian stated, "Especially after the Daily Planet debacle last year."  
Lillian's voice was filled with disgust, "And you'd do wise not to reveal anything private...like Lex."

The sound of Lillian breaking the shell of her breakfast egg with a spoon almost made Lena jump and she looked at Lex, who was reading something on his phone and didn't even pay attention to their conversation.  
She was alone in this as usual.

"Sure. I can do that. When should I expect them?" Lena asked, already making a mental note what to prepare for that interview.

A smile spread on Lillian's face. It was fake, of course, but to people, who looked at the scene from the outside it would probably look like a normal family breakfast.  
But the thing was, that while the Luthors had taken her in when she had needed a home, they had never been her family.  
And they never would be.

"Cat Grant and I agreed that Miss Danvers will be shadowing you for the next month, starting today", Lillian announced with a sparkle in her eyes, daring Lena to challenge her.

Of course she knew better than to do that and yet Lena had do ask, "A month? Is that really necessary?"

"But absolutely. Luthor Corp needs publicity. You said so yourself I might add. This unfortunate article of Clark Kent has cost us quite a bit of our reputation and I want it rebuilt. See to it that it happens", Lillian's tone was harsh, leaving no doubt that this was an order.

Lena nodded, "Of course."

"Now leave us...Lex and I have some things to discuss and I'm pretty sure you've got work to do."

* * *

Lena got out of the car and said good bye to her driver about half an hour later.  
She let her eyes roam up the skycraper that was home to Luthor Corp before she took a deep breath and entered the building.

A reporter following her around for a month was exactly what she needed.  
Not.  
Lillian had most likely arranged for this to spy on her again as the woman was so busy at the hospital and the lab these days that she hadn't been able to keep an eye on her herself.  
She had been so thankful for the little bit of privacy it had provided her, but those days were over it seemed.

She checked her make up on the elevator ride up to the fiftythird floor where her office was located, reapplied her burgundy lip stick and stalked into the lobby, looking flawless as usual.

Jess, her assistant, greeted her with a stack of papers in hand and informed her that a Miss Danvers had called to let her know that she would be late.  
Lena wasn't impressed, she hated people who couldn't be punctual and professional, but this morning she didn't mind.  
It would give her a few minutes to herself, to actually prepare herself for this new unnannounced invasion on her life.

Being a Luthor was a curse.  
She had wanted to stay an O'Malley for the rest of her life, especially after her grandfather's death, but then the Luthors had taken her in.  
Back then she had thought it would be her saving grace as she didn't have anywhere else to go, not knowing that she had signed up for the life of a caged animal. Then again she had only been sixteen, alone and scared out of her mind. What had she known. She had been glad that she hadn't ended up on the street, but looking back now it might have been the better choice still.

Lillian controlled her every step from what she ate to how she dressed and Lena felt like a prisoner with no way of escape.  
She had wanted to become a doctor, like Lillian ironically, but she didn't have any intentions of cutting brains open for a living like renowned neuro surgeon Lillian Luthor.  
No, she had wanted to research and find a cure for cancer, but she had ended up being the Luthor Corp media spokesperson instead.  
Lillian had insisted until Lionel had agreed and she hadn't gotten a say in it at all.

It wasn't that she didn't like the work in public relations and dealing with the media, but she could have accomplished so much more if only they would have let her follow the path she had wanted to.  
These days all she ever did was talking to reporters, answering questions about Luthor Corp and its achievements while trying to make the corporation look good.  
And although she had her hands full with all of the new inventions Luthor Corp was about to present in a couple of weeks her job was nowhere near fullfilling.

She had tried to talk to Lex about it, but he hadn't even listened.  
He had changed so much since she had been a teenager, since she had moved in with the Luthors.  
Back then he had showered her with attention and love and she had thought he would be the one to save her from the darkness one day, but that had been a vast misjudgment on her part.

He had been her best friend, her ally and she had loved him for that, but these days it almost felt as if he was the enemy.  
Marrying him had been the biggest mistake of her life, she knew that now, but she was also aware that Lillian would never allow them to get a divorce. Not that Lex had any intention of filing for one anyway.  
She was his trophy wife, who's only purpose was to look flawless in public, always ready to be shown off, always polite, always "perfect".

Not that he appreciated any of it as they hardly talked to each other these days. He was usually off to one of the Luthor's vacation homes with one of his mistresses or he was working on some project in the lab with his mother.  
A project she wasn't allowed to know about. Then again she had never been let in on any secrets to begin with, so she really shouldn't be surprised.

Ever since she had lost her parents when she had been seven years old she had been on this path of shadows, that had grown darker with every year that had went by.  
Life had never been easy for her and her grandfather and they never had had much, but they had had each other .  
He had taught her how to swim in the churning sea that was her own mind. He had been her rock, always there to hold on to. He had been her light, always guiding her no matter how dark it had gotten.  
But then she had lost him too and everything had went pitch black and she was stumbling through the darkness like a mole, blind and lost.

The permanent absence of light was something she had gotten used to and it didn't scare her anymore. At least not as much as it once had.  
What she really missed was the warmth.  
The warmth of someone caring about her, the warmth only a family could provide.  
A grandfather, a mother or father, a loving husband or even a best friend.  
She had none of it.

It wasn't easy making friends when Lillian Luthor was constantly breathing down her neck, watching her every step, criticizing her every choice.  
She knew in Lillian's eyes she was neither good enough, nor could she do anything right.

To the public she was strong and confident Lena Luthor, but as soon as the spotlight was turned away from her she was just Lena O'Malley, the daughter of Irish immigrants, the granddaughter of the Luthors' former gardener.  
She was a 29 year old woman with the self confidence of wallflower, filled with doubt and insecurtieres.  
Not necessarily someone that screamed best friend material.  
And besides that Lillian hadn't wanted her to engage with inferior people as the Luthors were part of National City's elitist club and reputation meant everything to the family martriach.

Lena was so caught up in her own darkness that she didn't hear the knock on her office door.  
It was only when a young blonde stormed into her office with Jess following on her heels that she almost jumped out of her chair.

"I swear I just blinked and she got right past me", Jess stated apologetically, while sounding incredibly annoyed.

"Sorry, this is my fault", the blonde rambled before Lena could have said something herself.

"She's so fast", Jess threw in, but was interrupted before she could have said anything else.

"I'm Kara Danvers from CatCo magazine. I'm sorry for being late, but Cat Grant only..."

This was getting out of hand, so Lena got up, looking at her assistant, "Jess, would you make a note downstairs that Kara Danvers is to be shown in right away whenever possible?"

Jess looked at her in confusion, but ultimately nodded, "Yes, Miss Luthor."  
She gave the blonde a quick once over before she turned and left the room.

Big blue eyes stared at Lena in disbelief, "Really?"

She only gave a small smile as an answer and the blonde beamed at her with pride.

"Miss Luthor..."

Lillian would kill her if she would screw this up. It was time to play her role, not that she had any trouble with that. In fact she had gotten quite good at it over the years.  
So Lena stood up and offered her hand in greeting, a winner's smile on her face now, "Lena...please."  
She sounded a bit amused and she was as the blonde reporter was not nearly what she had expected.  
Then again she wasn't sure what she had expected to begin with, but a young, perky blonde, who's emotions where all over the place and who's excitement bounced off of her in waves wasn't it.

"It's good to see you, Miss Danvers", she added as soon as they shook hands and the blonde blushed slightly, "If I'm calling you Lena..."

She gestured with her hand in agreement and sat back down, "Kara it is."

The blonde took a seat on the chair opposite from Lena and they looked each other up in silence for a moment, separated by Lena's desk.

"So, where do we start?" Lena asked at last, not sure what Lillian and Cat Grant had agreed on, which made all of this so much harder.

Kara admitted that she didn't really know because it was her first job as a reporter and that she had only found out that she was assigned to the job this morning. Her colleague, who was supposed to do it, had been involved in an accident last night and was currently in hospital.

"Well, then..." Lena tried to come up with a plan, but came up short, "What about coffee first?"

"You're a lifesaver!"  
Kara gave her a grateful smile and Lena was taken aback by the sincerity and the warmth that came with it.

She didn't know what to make of this Kara Danvers, that much was certain.  
Nor was she convinced that it was a good idea to be followed around by the perky reporter for a whole month.  
But what Lena Luthor did know, without a doubt, was, that she was nowhere near prepared for the ray of sunshine that had waltzed into her office in the form of Kara Danvers only minutes ago, shining a light into that everlasting darkness that surrounded her, momentarily blinding her.

* * *

 _So yeah...this story idea has been haunting me in my dreams the last couple of weeks._

 _What do you guys think? Yay or nay?_  
 _It it worth continuing?_

 _I would really appreciate it if you would share your thoughts about this one with me. Thanks in advance!_  
 _Much love xo_


End file.
